Before you buy a building site, there is a lot more to check than where north is. In Episode 03, I cover the five things to be aware of so the home you want fits the site you buy.

Building a home means making a huge number of decisions. In Episode 02, I share the four decision making types I've come to recognise, so you can understand what you need from your team.

Building a new home is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make, and most people are expected to know what they're doing without anyone explaining the process in plain language. In Episode 1, I share why I wrote Babe, Let's Build a House, who it's for, and a behind the scenes look at every chapter in the series.

Does New Zealand really build better than Australia? Architectural Designer Sharon Robinson compares building codes, energy modelling and weather tightness across the ditch.

Are your windows the weak link in your home's performance? In this episode, Sharon sits down with Stephanie Murphy from Ambiance to talk about UPVC windows and doors — what they are, why they outperform aluminium on thermal comfort, condensation, and weather tightness, and why they're becoming the smart choice for New Zealand homeowners. If you're building or renovating and want a healthier, more comfortable home, this one's for you.

“Airtightness isn’t about sealing people into buildings — it’s about controlling how air and moisture move through them. When warm, moist air leaks through gaps and cracks, it can condense inside walls and ceilings, leading to mould and long-term damage. Airtightness only works when it’s intentional and paired with proper ventilation.”

Here in New Zealand we often compare ourselves to Australia and it’s easy to think life is better on the other side of the ditch. But there are problems facing the building industry in Australia that are the similar but also different than here in New Zealand.

 I had a chat with Jackson Digney from Enduro Builders the other day. Jackson is a builder who has a wonderful attitude to not only his own clients, but to the industry he is in.

Peter and I discuss his love of building, what amazes him about the Block Contestants and how he would build a new home. Tune in to here the wisdom and his journey from his life of building.

What really drives the cost of building a home in New Zealand? I spoke with Quantity Surveyor Nick Clements from YourQS to explain the impact of labour, materials, house size, and tendering myths. As an architectural designer, I want to give homeowners clear insights to make smarter building decisions. Watch the full video here.

In this month’s vlog, I sit down with Simon Cator from Pro Clima to talk about his own renovation journey. We discuss the architectural challenges of upgrading an older home, the improvements that made the biggest difference to comfort and health, and why renovations are such a powerful opportunity to create healthier, more energy-efficient homes.

Seldom do clients of mine meet these people, but the Architectural result that I help my clients achieve wouldn’t not be possible without these people and products.

No Man is an island and that’s certainly true for Small Smart Spaces. Every sustainable healthy home is created by a team of people with aligned vision and values, most of whom the client will never meet.

So come and meet the team behind Small Smart Spaces and hear their story.

Whether you're focused on lowering the cost of living, improving your mortgage options, or simply building better, Small Smart Spaces is here to help you live smarter, not bigger.

Lets demystify the Architectural Design process from a clients perspective.

Why building to Homestar 6 makes financial and lifestyle sense—better health, lower bills, smarter lending. Here’s why it’s worth it.

So last vlog I highlight 7 gaps in our New Zealand Building Code and why when it is used as a design guide it fails to create the homes that New Zealanders believe they are getting.

So to recap on the 7 differences, I see between just a legal home and a healthy home, we explored Ventilation, energy efficiency, overheating, internal moisture or humidity, airtightness, insulation and window installation.

Our New Zealand Building Code is a legal document. All building work, whether requiring a building consent or not, has to comply with the Building Code to be legal. Legal building matter, not for the Council or for Architects and Designers, but for homeowners. Illegal buildings cannot be sold without disclosure, don’t qualify for financial lending and aren’t insurable. The NZBC is there to provide protection for the homeowner. It is effectively the set of legal minimums that must be achieved.

Building better products and systems.

I often see substitutions made on architectural projects by builders and what happens is that the client misses out on a better preforming building because they were convinced by someone that they should settle for status quo. If the way we were building was creating better preforming buildings easily, don’t you think we would already be creating healthy comfortable and energy efficient homes?